Devon Dick | Culture of lawfulness, according to Owen Ellington

Building a culture of lawfulness was the thrust of executive director of Security and Counter Terrorism at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Owen Ellington, former commissioner of police (2009-14), in an article published recently on the CMU's website.

Ellington argues that the limited state of emergency and zones of special operations have contained the country's murder rate,

but those measures require corresponding efforts in building a culture of lawfulness in order to achieve sustainable crime reduction and improved public security. He defined a culture of lawfulness as 'changing the norms of lawlessness and building citizens' aversion to crime, violence and offending. This is attainable by building capacity within the police force and the criminal justice system; swiftly and decisively dealing with all criminal matters; clearing case backlogs and expanding the role of the police officers to proactively prevent violent crimes rather than being deliberately reactive, as they are now'. This culture of lawfulness is aimed at bringing down crime syndicates - drug lords, gunrunners, extortionists, and money launderers.

To achieve these goals, Ellington outlined some specifics because he realised that creating a culture of lawfulness cannot be done through goodwill, but is achievable through a systematic approach. For example, he claimed that to

build a culture of lawfulness, those who are employed to uphold the law and to assure public safety and security should be accessible to the general population. So, where communities consist of at least 400 homes, there should be a community police station. Proximity Policing means that the police are accessible to citizens when they are needed.

EASY ACCESS

Ellington called for Proximity Policing to be coupled with Proximity Justice System. Every citizen ought to have easy access to the courts. When the courts are placed outside of the reach of the citizens due to distance, then they may lose interest in cases and the criminal justice process. Moreover, the proposal of re-establishing courts in proximity to local police stations would improve accessibility.

Also, Ellington called for the amendment of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Act to enable the police to intervene in civil matters. The JCF Act narrowly defines the police duties as 'the preservation of peace and good order, protection of life and property, prevention and detection of crime'. The act explicitly excludes the police from taking an active role in the execution of a civil process. It prevents the police from being proactive in assisting in the resolution of non-criminal disputes in communities. Very often, these non-criminal disputes fester and become grievous matters.

Additionally, Ellington called for greater use of mediation; fast-tracking trials which present concern for public security, public interest, victims' needs and vulnerability and special needs of accused persons; a more conservative approach to the administration of bail; courts moving to exonerate innocent persons quickly and convict and sentence swiftly those who are guilty; engaging specialist prosecutors; introduce mandatory minimum sentences for serious offences.

According to Ellington, since the enactment of the anti-gang law four years ago, none of the cases made by the police under this law have been tried: yet the law is up for review. He therefore asked how can the law be reviewed without first testing its effectiveness?

This article could be enhanced if Ellington had given a costing to these needed measures. However, it should not cost more than the billions for election reverification plus the $1.4b for bushing and Christmas work. Furthermore, he should have stated what measures and systems he implemented or lobbied for while he was the top cop. Finally, just as how he addressed jungle justice by citizens, he should have addressed the issue of police death squads.

This very good article shows that Owen Ellington should be the next government security adviser.

- Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew. He is author of 'The Cross and the Machete', and 'Rebellion to Riot'. Send feedback to columns@ gleanerjm.com.